Primal Decals 621 Posted March 6, 2016 ok since im starting to do research on a eco-solvent printer and im close to a decision( i think lol ), i think its past due to find out what people use for a formula when it comes to printing costs .I know what my material costs are ,its all about how to determine what you charge for ink usage etc .I hope this is posted in the correct place..Thank you everyone for al your advice and info..Dwayne Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dakotagrafx 7,297 Posted March 6, 2016 well it isn't so easy to lay out - depends on which of the dozens of vinyl you use - then do you laminate that project or not (depends on usage here) then as I found out the hard way how complicated is the contour cut if any. I mention the contour because most are simple and I used a basic charge for the stuff with no charge for contour - then I got a customer that has been back 5-6 times with a project that takes 4 hrs to print and about 15 to contour - that means that machine is tied up and not making money on other jobs during that time so that has to calculate in along with the massive extra wear and tear on that long of a job.remember you don't have just the materials - calculate in your depreciation (printer isn't like a cutter in that respect), yearly maint. cost (things like heads, dampers, wipers, wiper scraper, pads, cap tops, (cleaning swabs and solvent used weekly). check the price on cleaning solvent and you will see why that is factored in. this is just things to consider if you want to do it more than a year or two. we have many buy printers but think you can count on 2 hands with fingers left over how many are around after 2 years. we see quite a few that when they run into buying their first head or they damage a board when they replace a head disappear. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Primal Decals 621 Posted March 6, 2016 thanks Dakotagrafx. im also in the process of getting a second cutter just so i dont have a machine tied up with that side.And i understand all the other costs that need to be added as well..but figuring what the price is to charge per inch or sq foot of ink is my biggest hurdle to understand ..its not like vinyl cost breakdown and i understnd that and money isnt a issue, . Thanks buddy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
2CT Media 25 Posted March 27, 2016 Price can be factored many ways. My nature is I like as much info as possible so we price based on cost. Our cost is averaged based on our data. We price based on: Material cost * 2 Ink cost * 2.5 Machine Time * 2 Labor Time * 2 Laminate * 2 Cutting Time if req Weeding Time if req Mask cost * 2 if req Install / Substrate if req Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Primal Decals 621 Posted March 27, 2016 thank you guys.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
